Upload
others
View
6
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Uncommon Sense
A report of research commissioned by Virgin OnePrepared by Dr. Peter Marsh
January 2001
MCM Research Ltd. 27/28 St. Clements, Oxford. OX4 1ABTel: 01865 204211 Fax: 01865 793137
Contents
Introduction - Scott Mowbray, Virgin One Account. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3What is Uncommon Sense? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Foreword by Dr Peter Marsh, MCM Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Key Research Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Virgin One Uncommon Sense Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Purpose of the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The riddles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Problem 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Problem 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Problem 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Problem 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Overall performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Attitudes towards Uncommon sense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
S1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
S2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
S3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
S4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
S5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
S6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
S7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
S8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
S9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
S10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
S11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
S12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
S13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
n MCM Research - January 2001 2
n Uncommon Sense –
Introduction - Scott Mowbray, Virgin One Account
What is UncommonSense?
At Virgin One, we define Uncommon Sense as creative or lateral
thinking, something we are proud to think the Virgin One Account
is all about.
To celebrate the power of Uncommon Sense thinking and how
looking beyond the obvious can help you solve problems in every
day life, we commissioned a study into the occurrence of
uncommon sense thinking in people, and attitudes to common sense
and uncommon sense as ways of thinking when it comes to problem
solving.
We are always being told how good common sense is. Indeed, how
often have you heard someone being knocked back for not having
any? But common sense has limitations. Sometimes we are right to
trust it, but imagine if we always did. We’d still think the sun
revolved around our own planet if Gallileo hadn’t changed what
was common sense 400 years ago.
Today, in a financial context, common sense says you need a
mortgage when buying a home, a personal loan when using finance
to buy a car and a current account for your income. These separate
accounts appear to be the obvious solution in banking but maybe
this commonly accepted view is wrong. The smarter, uncommon
sense way of banking is to put it all in one place. It might not be
obvious but simply running savings, income and borrowings
through the same account could save thousands of pounds in
interest.
The results show that people are beginning to truly recognise the
benefits of uncommon sense thinking. A report that seeks to explore
the value of this quality, still too often overlooked in our daily lives,
follows. I hope you enjoy it and find it inspiring!
n MCM Research - January 2001 3
n Uncommon Sense – Introduction - Scott Mowbray, Virgin One Account
Foreword by Dr Peter Marsh, MCM Research
One of the problems with being a social scientist is that one’s work
is sometimes described as jargon-ridden, obscure and hard to
fathom. On the other hand, when people do understand what we are
struggling to say, the points are often dismissed as being just
‘common sense’ – something that everybody knew already and we
didn’t need a psychologist to tell us that. It seems that often we just
cannot win. But, revealed in this quite healthy scepticism is an
insight into the notion of ‘common sense’ itself.
On the one hand, common sense refers to things that are ‘obvious’ –
they need no further thought or investigation. When dark clouds fill
the sky and the weather forecast indicates rain, common sense tells
us to wear a mac and take an umbrella with us. Sense which is
‘common’ – i.e. routine and shared by everybody around us – is,
therefore, a very basic and necessary aspect of human life. It is
essential for everyday functioning.
On the other hand, common sense is often held in more positive
regard. We talk of some people as having ‘a lot of common sense’ –
down-to-earth types on whom we can rely to solve problems for us
and to help us out when we need them. They can provide good,
rational advice in a world which can frequently appear quite
irrational.
What we are talking about in both cases here is ‘intelligence’ – the
ability to solve practical problems in our everyday lives, whether
simple or more complex, and to function as competent human
beings. When psychologists devise measures of intelligence in the
form of IQ tests, they go beyond assessments of just this practical
knowledge to assess more abstract types of reasoning. But they
focus very much on those skills which are useful in a particular kind
of society. In our culture, for example, we examine linguistic and
numerical skills, along with spatial reasoning – the ability to
manipulate patterns and objects. And we require this range of skills
to be exercised in a fixed time period. It’s not just a matter of being
able to solve the problems, but how quickly they are completed as
well.
In other types of society, however, what is valued and seen as useful
can be very different. In some traditional African cultures, for
example, the concept of intelligence translates as something like
‘cautious slowness’ – an approach which would make you appear
quite dim if presented with a Western IQ test. Elsewhere in the
world, intelligence is seen as being a much more social
phenomenon – you would find it strange to be asked to complete an
IQ test on your own. You would want to involve your brothers and
sisters, perhaps the entire extended family before you gave an
answer. Here, that would simply be viewed as ‘cheating’.
n MCM Research - January 2001 4
n Uncommon Sense – Foreword by Dr Peter Marsh, MCM Research
Intelligence then, and its core component of common sense, is an
arbitrary way of indicating which types of knowledge, skills and
approaches to problem-solving are valued in a given society at a
particular point of its historical development. In this sense, of
course, it is very useful. It indicates what skills and competencies
should be developed in schools so that individuals can play a useful
role in society in their adult life. But it can also be constricting. It
encourages us to develop a quite narrow range of approaches to
solving the types of problem with which we are routinely presented.
There is a parallel here with the ways in which we form impressions
of people around us. We constantly meet new people in both our
working and social lives. We need to form very quick impressions
of these people in order to interact with them effectively. Are we
attracted to them? Do they share similar values to us? What are their
interests? Do we want to spend much time with them? And so on.
We rely on stereotypes, or pigeon-holing, to fit them into one of our
ready-made categories. These impressions are almost always
inaccurate and incomplete. But life is too short to keep a completely
open mind all of the time. Later, when we have time, and if we are
still in touch with these people, we might find that we need to revise
those impressions – reconsider our views in the light of more
information.
And so it is with common sense. It allows us to get on with our lives
without having constantly to re-invent the wheel. It allows us to use
‘tried and tested’ ways of doing things, which work reasonably well,
most of the time. But it leads us to work on the basis of fixed
assumptions, which are not always appropriate. Einstein once
remarked that “Common sense is the collection of prejudices
acquired by the age of eighteen.” Holding such ‘prejudices’, while
often useful in the sense that having stereotypes can be, leads us to
overlook potentially more effective ways of thinking about things.
The trouble is that only rarely do we look back and realise that there
could have been a much better solution to a problem, if only we had
looked a little harder; if only we had used a little imagination; if
only we used some uncommon sense.
Uncommon sense is a way of approaching problems which do not
necessarily follow the conventional route. It’s akin to what, in
management speak, is called ‘thinking outside of the box’, or what
some people term ‘creative’ thinking. It involves removing the
barriers which reliance on common sense intelligence has,
unwittingly, erected. It also involves focusing on other, previously
unconnected, information and making new links.
It is this which led Archimedes, for example, to discover the
fundamental principle of buoyancy while taking a bath. Whether he
did, in reality, run though the streets of Athens shouting “Eureka” is
less certain. But without his use of uncommon sense the
development of a whole area of physics would have been seriously
delayed. And Einstein, of course, applied extremely uncommon
n MCM Research - January 2001 5
n Uncommon Sense – Foreword by Dr Peter Marsh, MCM Research
sense when he overturned all of the commonly held notions about
space and time with his theory of relativity. He succeeded in
dramatic fashion in putting aside all of those prejudices which his
education had provided him with and clung to his belief that
‘imagination is more important than knowledge.’
Archimedes and Einstein, of course, are lofty examples of the power
of uncommon sense. At a more mundane level, however, the same
way of thinking is evident in the development of the Dyson vacuum
cleaner. James Dyson had spent a frustrating Saturday morning
cleaning out his old fashioned appliance, pondering on how it could
be improved. But it wasn’t until he had put aside all the normal
assumptions about vacuum cleaners – that they had to suck in air,
filter out the dirt in a bag etc. – that it was possible to see a real
alternative.
Some people see these processes as ‘flashes of inspiration’ or ‘pure
genius’. And in a sense they are. But uncommon sense is not just
the prerogative of men whose names have gone down in history.
The principles which underlie these innovations in both theory and
practical application are there for all of us to share. All we have to
do is place less reliance on routine assumptions, challenge some of
the ‘tried and tested’ methods, and start to think in ways which are
less constrained by ‘conventional wisdoms’.
If uncommon sense has such practical value in everyday life, how
many of us use it? Indeed, how many of us recognise the
short-comings in our traditional, common sense ways of tackling
routine and inevitable problems? Do people see any advantage in
changing their thinking habits? Where might a bit of uncommon
sense be best employed?
Until very recently we could not have answered such questions.
Now we can, thanks to the Virgin One Uncommon Sense study.
n MCM Research - January 2001 6
n Uncommon Sense – Foreword by Dr Peter Marsh, MCM Research
Key Research Findings
® The majority of people fail to solve problems which require an
uncommon sense approach because they make the wrong,
‘common sense’ assumptions. Younger people do slightly better
than their elders and men are better than women, perhaps due to
their higher levels of competitiveness.
® However, people in the age range 35-55 are generally the most
receptive to the benefits of uncommon sense, indicating an age of
enlightenment. Maybe life does begin at forty!
® Over a third of the people surveyed thought that creative thinking
or uncommon sense would be of most benefit when dealing with
their finances.
® Women have most of their creative, uncommon sense thoughts
when talking to others, indicating that this type of thinking comes
best to women in a social context. Men on the other hand tend to
be individualistic when it comes to moments of ‘eureka’ – Their
best thoughts coming when driving or sitting on the toilet!
® 78% of men and women agreed that common sense thinking, or
not looking beyond the obvious could cost them financially.
® The study showed that 83% of respondents agreed when it was
suggested that, for some things in life you need a new perspective
and to start thinking a bit differently. Indeed, over half said they
agreed strongly with this thought.
® 86% thought that in some situations in life required us to look
beyond the obvious.
® Only 32% of people thought sticking to the ways they have
always done things is the best way to work things out
® Only a quarter of the people surveyed felt they explored all of their
options before making decisions. This would indicate that people
might be prone to rash ‘common sense’ decision making when
taking financial products for example.
n MCM Research - January 2001 7
n Uncommon Sense – Key Research Findings
The Virgin One Uncommon Sense Study
Purpose of the study The study was designed to assess the extent to which a balanced
sample of the British population possessed a degree of uncommon
sense in their approaches to problem-solving It further sought to
measure their attitudes towards uncommon sense and the perceived
value of such a way of thinking in everyday life contexts.
Design There are many ways of examining patterns of thinking and
intelligence in the psychological laboratory. These, however, rarely
tell us much about how real people in the real world approach
problems, the extent to which they see alternative ways of obtaining
solutions, or the extent to which they are able to get past common,
but ultimately flawed, assumptions.
We took, therefore, a different approach. Over 1,000 people – men
and women of various ages and social classes, and from different
regions of the country – were asked to respond to a telephone
interview. In this, they were asked firstly to think about 4 riddles.
The riddles were specifically chosen because they did not contain
any ‘tricks’. All could be quite easily solved if people thought about
them properly and avoided making unnecessary or false
assumptions.
Secondly they were presented with a number of questions designed
to assess:
n perceived reasons for failure to solve the riddles
n perceived limitations of common sense approaches to
problem-solving.
n willingness to embrace alternative, uncommon sense
approaches
n perceived benefits of uncommon sense in everyday life
n situations in which uncommon thinking was most likely to
occur
Summary analyses of the results are presented in the next two
sections.
n MCM Research - January 2001 8
n Uncommon Sense – The Virgin One Uncommon Sense Study
The riddles
Problem 1 Q. A woman gives a beggar 20p. The woman is the beggar‘s sister,
but the beggar is not the woman’s brother. How is this? A. The
beggar is the woman’s sister.
This problem was solved by only just over a quarter of the
respondents (26% of both males and females). People in the 25-34
year old category were significantly better than most, with 36%
providing the right answer. (See Figure 1.1).
Most people, of course make the assumption that the beggar is a
man. Once you get rid of such ‘prejudices’ the problem is very
straightforward and easy to solve.
Problem 2. Q. I have in my hand 2 coins totalling 15p. One is not a 5p piece.
What are they? A. A 10p and a 5p - one is not a 5p.
This is an interesting problem because it shows how people
misinterpret quite straightforward statements. Most assume that
‘one’ in this context means ‘neither’, although there is no good
reason for doing so. Again, one has to put aside what is assumed to
be ‘obvious’ in order to find a solution.
Men were significantly better than women on this ‘riddle’, although
over three quarters still got it wrong, as shown in Figure 2.1
n MCM Research - January 2001 9
n Uncommon Sense –
18-2425-34
35-4445-54
55-6465+
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Fig. 1.1 Problem 1 - percent correct by age
There were also some age differences here, with the younger
respondents doing the worst. People in their mid 40s to mid 50s and
65+ were significantly better than the rest, as shown in Figure 2.2.
In this case, as in the case of the other problems, respondents in the
higher socio-economic categories tended to get the right answer
significantly more often than those in the lower categories. Of those
in the AB groups, for example, 28% gave the right answer,
compared with only 16% in the lowest ‘manual worker’ categories
D and E. This is not too surprising because many people in the
n MCM Research - January 2001 10
n Uncommon Sense –
18-2425-34
35-4445-54
55-6465+
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Fig. 2.2 Problem 2 - percent correct by age
Male
Female
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Fig. 2.1 Problem 2 - percent correct by sex
higher SE groups tend to have more practice in solving abstract
problems. It is clear, however, that being ‘brainy’ in this sense only
helps to a degree when faced with this and similar types of problem.
Even very ‘clever’ people fail to solve puzzles when they cling to
the wrong assumptions.
Problem 3 Q. You are participating in a race and you overtake the second.
What position do you finish? A. Second
This is an interesting riddle because the answer, when you think
about it properly, is blindingly obvious. If you overtake the person
running second, you must have been in third place. You take his or
her place, so you must now be second. Despite the simplicity, only
about a quarter of respondents got this right (25% of males and 24%
of females). Most thought that if you passed the person in second
place you must be in the lead.
What is happening here is that most people hear the word ‘second’,
think of the position above second, so assume that the answer is
‘first’. Again, a completely false assumption is interfering with the
ability to think constructively.
People in their mid 20s to mid 30s were better in solving this
problem than the rest, as shown in Figure 3.1.
n MCM Research - January 2001 11
n Uncommon Sense –
18-2425-34
35-4445-54
55-6465+
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Fig. 3.1 Problem 3 - percent correct by age
Problem 4 Q. Please listen carefully. You are a pilot of an aeroplane with 100
passengers. It drops off 20 passengers in Glasgow and picks up 10.
It flies to Edinburgh where 10 get off and fifteen get on. Finally, it
arrives in Aberdeen. What is the pilot’s name? A. You are the pilot,
so it must be your name.
This is a ‘fun’ problem. Most people anticipate that this is a mental
arithmetic task. You can see their concentration as they keep track
of the figures. When the question comes at the end, many are not
prepared for it – they have paid heed to the ‘listen carefully’ bit at
the beginning, but they have focused on the wrong things.
Our respondents, however, managed to do rather better here than on
the previous problems, with men being significantly better than
women – 30% Vs 20%. The younger people (under 35) also did
significantly better than those in the older age groups, as shown in
Figure 4.1.
Overall performance In general, men did better overall than women on these tasks,
although both sexes performed quite badly. From Figure 5.1 we can
see that 39% of men and 43% of women failed to solve any of the
problems. Only 2% of both males and females got them all right.
Men, however, had the edge in getting 3 right more often then
women. The average number of correct questions was 1.05 for men
and 0.88 for women.
What this suggests is that men might be more able than women to
put aside the ‘common sense’ approach to these types of question –
n MCM Research - January 2001 12
n Uncommon Sense –
18-2425-34
35-4445-54
55-6465+
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Fig. 4.1 Problem 4 - percent correct by age
the approach which fails because it makes the wrong assumptions.
On the other hand, it could be that they are more practised in what
some people might regard as ‘smart aleck’ questions, and perhaps a
bit more competitive too.
There were a few age variations, with people in their mid 20s to mid
30s doing better than most.
Social class differences were quite significant in overall
performance, but even those in the top AB categories only managed
an average of 1.24 correct answers, compared with 0.79 for the
lowest SE groups. There were no noticeable differences between
respondents from various parts of the country, although those in the
South did marginally better than those in the Midlands.
Summary What these findings demonstrate is that ‘common sense’ approaches
to the types of problem presented in this study – ways of thinking
which rely on seemingly reasonable, but ultimately false,
assumptions – are obstacles to achieving solutions. To get to the
right answer it is necessary to step aside from normal
problem-solving habits to start to think in different ways. There
were no real ‘tricks’ to the questions. All were, in fact, quite simple.
But elegant simplicity is something which is often hidden when
people assume that the question is harder than it really is.
n MCM Research - January 2001 13
n Uncommon Sense –
01
23
4
Male
Female0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
No. Correct
Fig. 5.1 Overall performance by sex
Attitudes towards Uncommon sense
In the second part of the study we examined our respondents’ ideas
about alternative ways of thinking and problem-solving. Many were
experiencing a sense of failure – perhaps feeling a bit ‘thick’ once
they heard the answers to the riddles that they had been unable to
solve. If common sense had not succeeded, could a bit more
‘creative thinking’ have helped? If so, how might such uncommon
sense approaches help them in their everyday lives. We asked them
to express their agreement or disagreement with ten statements.
Their responses are summarised below.
S1 It has been said that some people cannot solve these riddles because
they make the wrong assumptions.
There was overwhelming agreement with this statement (86%)
across both sexes and most age groups. It was, however, the more
‘mature’ respondents in their mid 40s to mid 50s who expressed the
strongest agreement, as shown in Figure 6.1.
The willingness by people in this and neigbouring age groups to
accept the limitations of common sense and to embrace new ways
of thinking is also, as we will see, evident in their responses to other
statements in this section of the study. (The relatively positive
response of the 18-24 group was less noticeable elsewhere.)
n MCM Research - January 2001 14
n Uncommon Sense –
18-2425-34
35-4445-54
55-6465+
74%
76%
78%
80%
82%
84%
86%
88%
90%
92%
Fig. 6.1 S1 – Percent expressing agreement by age
S2 Just using common sense does not always help you to solve
problems.
Respondents were more divided on this statement, with 60% of
females and 54% of males expressing agreement. (The difference
between the sexes was not statistically significant). Many
respondents were ‘neutral’ and an average of 18% disagreed with
the statement. We have, therefore, further evidence of a general
acceptance of the limitations of common sense approaches, and this
was most marked in the 35 to 54 age categories, as shown in Figure
6.2. The youngest respondents, between 18 and 24, were the least
likely to express reservations about the limits of common sense
thinking.
S3 For some things in life, you need to have a new perspective and
start thinking a bit differently
Our respondents were much more in accord with this view with
83% expressing agreement. Over half said that they agreed strongly.
Again, the ‘middle’ age bracket was where the acceptance of the
need for new perspectives was most evident, as shown in Figure 6.3.
Between their mid 30s and mid 50s is where, it seems, most people
are open to new ideas and ways of thinking. Their younger
n MCM Research - January 2001 15
n Uncommon Sense –
18-2425-34
35-4445-54
55-6465+
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Fig. 6.2 S2 – Percent expressing agreement by age
contemporaries have not reached this age of ‘enlightenment’ while
their elders seem now to have got a bit more ‘stuck in their ways’.
S4 Common sense thinking, or not looking beyond the obvious could
cost you in some situations.
A very similar pattern to S3 was found for this statement, with 78%
of both men and women in the sample agreeing, and those in the
35-44 age group doing so most frequently. Uncommon sense is
clearly seen as having specific, tangible benefits. This aspect is also
highlighted by responses to S12 below.
S5 Some situations in life require you to look beyond the obvious.
The overall agreement here was 86%, with the level highest in the
45-54 age group. The youngest and the oldest categories were again
those where the agreement was lowest.
S6 Sticking to the way you have always done things is the best way to
work things out.
Only a minority of 32% of the sample agreed with this statement,
which is consistent with their previous views on the limits of ‘tried
and tested’ common sense approaches.
S7 Most every day problems turn out to have quite simple solutions -
once you think them through properly.
n MCM Research - January 2001 16
n Uncommon Sense –
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Fig. 6.3 S3 – Percent expressing agreement by age
This statement drew agreement from 76% of men and 80% of
women, although this difference is not statistically significant.
Respondents in the 35-44 age group were significantly, more in
accord with this view than the others, as shown in Figure 6.4.
S8 Thinking a bit more creatively can sometimes help people overcome
difficulties in their relationships.
We had expected that more women would tend to agree with this
statement than men. In fact, the reverse was the case with 82% of
males and 78% of females being in accord. The difference,
however, is not statistically significant and there is clearly strong
belief generally that a bit of ‘creative’ thinking can help resolve
relationship problems.
Following the now familiar pattern, people in their 40s and 50s were
most sympathetic to this view.
S9 I am more often attracted to people who think creatively than others
who do not.
While most of the respondents clearly saw merit in alternative,
uncommon sense ways of problem-solving, did they view people
who took this more ‘creative’ approach as being more attractive? It
seems they were less sure, with an average of 51% expressing
agreement – slightly higher for females. Many were uncertain but
only 8% disagreed. On balance, then, the uncommon thinkers do
seem to be held in higher regard in this sense. There was little
n MCM Research - January 2001 17
n Uncommon Sense –
18-2425-34
35-4445-54
55-6465+
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Fig. 6.4 S4 – Percent expressing agreement by age
variation across the age categories, but agreement was highest
among those in professional and managerial roles – the C1 class.
S10 I feel that I am more open to new ideas and innovations than most
of my friends.
To respond to this statement our sample had to compare themselves
with their friends. We expected, therefore, that the majority would
be ‘neutral’ here, seeing themselves neither more nor less open to
new ideas than others. While over a third of respondents expressed
such neutrality, however, the largest group (43%) was in agreement
with the statement and only a distinct minority (19%) disagreeing.
This certainly reinforces the positive feelings which the majority of
people have about uncommon sense and the attractiveness of people
who possess it. There was little age or social class variation in this
context.
S11 I do not always explore all of the options before making decisions in
my every day life.
There were divided views on this statement, but the largest group
was in general agreement. Only a quarter of the sample felt that they
really did explore all of the options before making decisions. The
age group which felt the most need for improvement in this context
was 35-44.
S12 Ranking the areas of benefit.
Here the respondents were presented with a rather different task.
They were asked to consider four areas of their lives where a bit
more uncommon sense might be of the greatest benefit. The options
were ‘Finance’, ‘Relationships’, ‘Career’ and ‘Leisure interests and
pursuits’.
From Figure 6.5 we can see a similar pattern for both males and
females in their perception of areas of highest benefit, with dealing
with their finances seen as being most likely to improve with the
application of creative thinking or uncommon sense. Over a third of
respondents rated this 1st. Perhaps personal finances are seen as a
bit of a riddle themselves – seemingly complex affairs, but which
have simple solutions once one looks beyond the commonly held
view and takes a fresh approach – in other words, when a bit of
uncommon sense is applied.
‘Relationships’ was the second most significant area that it was felt
could benefit from different approaches. On careers, however, the
third-most highly ranked, men saw this as a rather more significant
area compared with women (19% Vs 14%) but the biggest factor
was age. Those in the younger age groups were significantly more
n MCM Research - January 2001 18
n Uncommon Sense –
likely to see uncommon sense as being of benefit to their career than
those in the older groups. (We would clearly not expect, of course,
those in the 65+ group to be too worried about their career
development.)
S13 Where do people have their most creative or best uncommon sense
thoughts?
This final question drew some interesting responses, with some
significant differences between men and women. From Figure 6.6
we can see that both men and women tended to have what we might
call ‘eureka’ moments most often when they were relaxing. Women,
however, were significantly more likely than men to obtain creative
solutions to problems when talking things through with other
people. For them, it seems that uncommon sense is a much more
interpersonal process than it is for men.
Women were also significantly less likely compared with men to
have their best thoughts when driving, under pressure or at work,
but more likely to come up with creative solutions when watching
TV or taking a shower. Men, of course, saw sitting on the toilet as
an opportunity for creative thought more frequently than did
women.
n MCM Research - January 2001 19
n Uncommon Sense –
FinancesRelationships
CareerLeisure
Male
Female0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Fig. 6.5 Percent ranking area of benefit 1st
Summary While most of our respondents failed to solve some or all of the
riddles, the large majority recognised that their failure was due to
the fact that they had made the wrong assumptions. They were also
aware of the limitations of common sense approaches and keen to
embrace new ways of thinking. The most receptive to new ideas
about problem solving were, perhaps surprisingly, those in their
‘middle’ ages. Those in the 18-24 and 55+ age categories seemed
the least willing to adapt in this way. There were few sex differences
in attitudes towards uncommon sense, with the exception of the
question relating to the situations in which they had their best ideas.
For women, uncommon sense was most likely to occur in social
contexts while for men it was more often during individual
activities.
n MCM Research - January 2001 20
n Uncommon Sense –
Rel
axin
g
Talk
ing
itth
rou
gh
Dri
vin
g
Un
der
Pre
ssu
re
Inb
ed
Inth
esh
ow
er
Inth
ep
ub
Infr
on
to
fT
V
On
the
toil
et
Wal
kin
gd
og
At
wo
rk
Males
Females0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Fig. 6.6 Occasions for uncommon sense thoughts
Conclusions
Most of our respondents failed to solve the problems with which
they were presented because they made the wrong assumptions.
They applied common sense approaches, which did not work.
Younger people (18-35) solved slightly more of the riddles than did
their elders – perhaps helped by the fact that they have grown up in
an age dominated by TV quizzes and game shows. Men also
performed a bit better than women on some of the problems. This
latter effect may confirm the commonly held view that women tend
to have more common sense than men, but unfortunately that can
be a handicap in this context. Alternatively, men may take a more
competitive approach to ‘riddles’ than women.
The large majority of respondents recognised that it was their failure
to use uncommon sense which prevented them from solving the
problems. They also overwhelmingly recognised the need to have
new perspectives and to think differently on occasions.
People in the age range 35-55, while performing slightly less well
on the riddle-solving tasks, were significantly more receptive to the
benefits of applying uncommon sense. Perhaps there is an age of
‘enlightenment’ between youthful folly and dotage where
recognition of the need for different ways of thinking is most
marked. Notable figures of genius have, through the ages, been less
than youthful. They have been people with knowledge but who, like
Einstein perhaps, have been able to put aside the prejudices which
ordinarily come with age and see new ways of putting their
experience to good use.
People also saw uncommon sense as having utility not only in
solving relatively trivial things such as riddles, but in central aspects
of their daily lives – particularly in areas such as managing financial
affairs and in their relationships with others, with younger males
also seeing it as most relevant to their career development. Only a
minority viewed following the ‘tried and tested’ methods as the
route to a successful and fulfilling life. And most felt that always
following the conventional route could actually cost them money.
Not only are people with uncommon sense likely to be more
effective in managing their everyday lives, they also tend to be seen
as rather more attractive as well. Common sense, while still viewed
as having practical value, is clearly not a quality which
distinguishes people from the rest and draws you towards them.
Most interestingly, it seems that it is women who are the most
optimistic about the power of ‘positive’ thinking and about the
rewards which the application of uncommon sense can bring. It is
they who recognise more than men that most problems, like the
riddles with which they were presented, could be very simple to
solve if a little uncommon sense was applied.
n MCM Research - January 2001 21
n Uncommon Sense –